Beverly Hills fatal stabbing suspect at large

July 20, 2010 12:45:04 AM PDT

By Leanne Suter and Robert Holguin

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. --

About a dozen people gathered Tuesday evening on the Beverly Hills street where their friend was brutally stabbed to death by a man still at large.Authorities responded to the 1800 block of Carla Ridge in the Trousdale Estates area after receiving a 911 call about unknown trouble at 6 a.m. They found a man's body in the driveway of a home. The man was declared dead at the scene.

Authorities got a search warrant for the home and had to force entry because the house was locked, but a suspect was not found inside.

"Officers responded and discovered a man down in front of the location," said Beverly Hills police Sgt. Shan Davis. "They called the Beverly Hills paramedics who came and pronounced the mean deceased at the scene."

The victim's name has not yet been released pending notification of next of kin. The family is reportedly in Japan.

Police have not said whether the victim is the owner of the home. Authorities described the victim as an Asian male in his 20s.

On the streets surrounding the crime scene, residents were stunned to learn that a young man had been stabbed to death in their neighborhood.

"It's alarming when you're trying to walk your dogs in the morning and the police say to you, 'Go in your house and lock your doors and close your windows," said neighbor Iann Weiss.

According to friends and neighbors, the murder victim was living alone in the house.

"He was just an amazing guy" said the victim's friend, Arthur Brandalis, who described him as kind and generous. "I don't understand how something like this can happen to him. He does not deserve it."

Police are still trying to piece the scene together to make sense of the crime.

"I don't know if the victim was known by the suspect," Davis said. "But I would have a hard time believing that this would be a random, drive-by situation or just random type of violence."

A motive for the killing had been not been determined.

Officials were unsure if the suspect was still in the area, so they launched a manhunt in the affluent hillside area using search dogs and officers from the Beverly Hills and Santa Monica police departments.

Authorities set up a command post at the corner of Carla Ridge and Loma Vista and the SWAT team was called in.

Beverly Hills Police used canine units to search the area for more than seven hours but with no success.

The suspect is described as a male with a medium build and dark complexion.

The home is owned by Fuminori Hayashida, a movie producer that has made films with Christian Slater and Dennis Hopper.

Neighbors said the family who lives there is out of town, but their son stayed behind and had a party Monday night.

Some residents are reeling from the murder that took place in the well-to-do neighborhood.

"I'm very unhappy," said neighbor Mansour Sinai. "It's very shocking. I can't believe it. I can't believe this happened in Beverly Hills. This is the first time we see this stuff."

Neighbors said Steve Martin and Queen Latifah are among the celebrities who live in the area.